Vol. 34, No. 16 
WIPP less than half full, DOE says in opposing most restrictions sought by New Mexico
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Transuranic Waste
Feds still working on moving stranded Los Alamos waste out of Texas, DOE boss says
Moving long-stranded, potentially combustible radioactive waste to the Department of Energy’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in New Mexico from a commercial site in Texas remains a priority, an agency official told a National Academies of Sciences panel this week. “We are continuing to work on a path forward for the LANL [Los Alamos National Laboratory […]
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Budget & Policy
Grout could be effective backstop to Hanford vitrification plant, says EM’s White
Cement-like grout might be a viable cleanup alternative for up to 60% of the liquid radioactive waste at the Hanford Site in Washington state, the acting head of the Department of Energy’s nuclear cleanup office told Senators this week. The long-delayed Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant being built by Bechtel to solidify radioactive waste into […]
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Contracts & Procurement
Winners celebrate $45-B Hanford tank award; briefings expected soon
The Department of Energy should within a week brief bidders about the agency’s reasons for awarding a $45-billion Hanford Site liquid waste cleanup contract to a BWX Technologies-led venture, industry executives said this week. As a result, any protest by a losing bidder should likely be filed with the Government Accountability Office by May 1 […]
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Vitrification & Grout
IWTU turns out 7 canisters in early going
The $1.4-billion Integrated Waste Treatment Unit, which started up radiological operations last week at the Department of Energy’s Idaho National Laboratory, has turned out seven canisters of “treated, blended” waste so far, the agency said Wednesday. Currently, the Integrated Waste Treatment Unit (IWTU) is processing a blend of 90% simulant and 10% sodium-bearing radioactive waste […]
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Transuranic Waste
WIPP takes in 36 shipments of TRU waste during March
The Department of Energy’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant near Carlsbad, N.M., received 36 shipments of transuranic waste during March, according to the latest publicly-available figures. The DOE’s public website for the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) shows 25 shipments arriving between March 1 and March 31 from the Idaho National Laboratory; four from the Savannah […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
New acting policy boss appointed by DOE cleanup office
A longtime Department of Energy hand, Kristen Ellis, is taking over as the acting head of regulatory and policy affairs for the Office of Environmental Management effective this weekend. With the recently-announced departure of Randall Hendrickson, who is taking a job with private industry, Ellis will temporarily assume his responsibilities in addition to her current […]
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Transuranic Waste
SRS-to-WIPP down-blended waste shipments get rolling
During fiscal 2023, the Department of Energy expects to make 15 shipments of transuranic defense waste from down-blended plutonium stocks to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in New Mexico from the Savannah River Site in South Carolina, a contractor executive said last week. Look for the level of such transuranic waste shipments, from the Surplus […]
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Contracts & Procurement
Perma-Fix reveals role in losing Hanford tanks team, but secures other business
Perma-Fix Environmental Services said April 14 its team lost the Department of Energy’s Integrated Tank Disposition Contract, potentially worth $45 billion over 10 years at the Hanford Site in Washington state, which went to a joint venture led by BWX Technologies. “Despite the loss of the [Hanford tanks] contract bid, the company expects to continue […]
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Transuranic Waste
WIPP worker drops race discrimination lawsuit against contractor
The Department of Energy’s former prime contractor at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in New Mexico and an employee who filed suit in 2021, claiming he was wrongly bypassed for promotion because of his race, have agreed to dismiss the federal court case. As a result, a status conference set for April 12 in the […]
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Decommissioning
Wrap Up: Oak Ridge accident probed; S&K Moab deal sweetened; DOE picks training firm; Wash. state hires D.C. firm; SRS non-profit gets new boss; McCain honored following her death
The Department of Energy’s Enforcement Office is investigating a November 2022 accident at the Oak Ridge Site in Tennessee, which resulted in an amputated finger for a carpenter working on construction of the new Mercury Treatment Facility at the Y-12 National Security Complex. Contractor APTIM – North Wind Construction was informed of the planned investigation […]